Panic disorder and hyperventilation

Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria

Antonio Egidio Nard¹  Alexandre M. ValenÇa¹  Isabella Nascimento¹  Marco A. Mezzasalma¹  Walter Zin¹ 

[1] ,Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Institute of Psychiatry Laboratory of Panic & Respiration,Brazil

关键词: panic attack;    respiration;    anxiety disorder;    ventilation;    ataque de pânico;    respiração;    transtorno de ansiedade;    ventilação;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S0004-282X1999000600006

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

Respiratory abnormalities are associated with anxiety, particularly with panic attacks. Symptoms such as shortness of breath, "empty-head" feeling, dizziness, paresthesias and tachypnea have been described in the psychiatric and respiratory physiology related to panic disorder. Panic disorder patients exhibit both behaviorally and physiologically abnormal responses to respiratory challenges tests. Objective: We aim to observe the induction of panic attacks by hyperventilation in a group of panic disorder patients (DSM-IV). Method: 13 panic disorder patients and 11 normal volunteers were randomly selected. They were drug free for a week. They were induced to hyperventilate (30 breaths/min) for 3 minutes. Anxiety scales were taken before and after the test. Results: 9 (69.2%) panic disorder patients and one (9.1%) of control subjects had a panic attack after hyperventilating (p< 0.05). Conclusion: The panic disorder group was more sensitive to hyperventilation than normal volunteers. The induction of panic attacks by vonluntary hyperventilation may be a useful and simple test for validating the diagnosis in some specific panic disorder patients.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
 All the contents of this journal, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License